


Blood, Sweat, Tears, And A Little Bit of Love

by heizl



Category: Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, Gen, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Love Triangles, M/M, POV First Person, Swearing, lots of zombie killing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 09:35:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3376652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heizl/pseuds/heizl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The zombie apocalypse, un-fucking-believable, right? </p>
<p>So, it was like any old day in Savannah, we was just workin' on the cars in the shop, me, Keith, 'nd Dave,  mindin' our own damn business. </p>
<p>And then we heard it, the blood curdlin' sound of a zombie's groans. </p>
<p>That moment, we looked at each other, thinkin', hell, our lives are about to change. Like, really change. And fer the worst, probably. Or so I was thinkin'. </p>
<p>So from that day, we was becomin' official zombie killers. <br/>Pretty cool, right!</p>
<p>Well, I mean, it was cool at first, til the blood went stale, and the moans of the dead got real old.</p>
<p>Hell, we didn't know what we was gettin' ourselves into.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood, Sweat, Tears, And A Little Bit of Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is my first time writing a Left 4 Dead story, and I'm really excited! This is my favorite game, and I love this kind of genre, so I'm really looking forward to working on this story. 
> 
>  
> 
> This story is going to be told in first person POV, so it will be told through the characters eyes. In this chapter, Ellis is telling the story, so it is written in a Southern accent. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, this world differs a little from canon L4D world in the sense that zombies can only die by headshots. But, scratches still won't kill you, at least not right away, and can be treated. Bites however can not, and will still kill you.
> 
>  
> 
> This chapter focuses a lot on Keith and Ellis, but after this will be focusing more on Nick/Ellis with references of Keith/Ellis. 
> 
>  
> 
> So, I hope you enjoy reading this, and of course, thank you for checking it out.  
>  It was really fun to write!
> 
> <3

 

 

Hey y'all.

 

My names Ellis. You can call me El if you'd like. My friends call me El, but El kinda sounds like a girl's name so I ain't always recommendin' you use that, but if you want to you can, I guess.

 

 

I like tellin' stories. A lot. It's always been kind of like a hobby of mine, story tellin'. I ain't always had that many listeners, so this is like, a real big deal for me, havin' even just yew to listen to me.

 

 

I always liked tellin' stories. Like 'bout my buddy Keith. Like this one time we tried ta make a molly and we had to improvise, you see, usin' kitchen soap and water and, we took Keith's uncle's mouthwash cause it has like, twelve percent alcohol in it, and so anyways...

 

 

Oh, right, shucks. I was tellin' a different story here, weren't I. My bad.

 

I like tellin' stories, like I said!

 

 

Anyways, this story here is 'bout the one time me and my buddies, Nick, Rochelle, Coach and Keith, we was in a mighty fine battle with the livin' dead.

 

 

I know right, the dead, livin'. It's crazy! Even I thought it was too good to be true. I mean, it's kind of like a dream to be able to kill zombies. But, it gets old after awhile. That horrid smell of blood on yew wears old mighty fast.

 

 

But this here's our story.

 

 

About the time we survived the zombie apocalypse.

 

 

And the time I fell in love with a guy yew'd never expect to actually fall in love with. I mean, he's kind of an ass. But, more on that later.

 

 

It all began when it was rainin'.

 

It was rainin', a lot. Hell, it was rainin' _batshit_ crazy. It was hard enough to see already with the thick fog that had set in from the bay, now with rain added, it was almost damned impossible to see anythin'.

 

 

Off in the distance you could hear the the cry of a Witch. Or, witches rather.

And if ya don't know what they sound like, it's like a girl sobbin' after she lost her boyfriend. But like, a girl cryin' after she lost her boyfriend on her _period._

 

 

The place was infected with them, crawlin' round all over, wailin' and screamin' for God knows why.

 

 

And to make matters even worse, er worser, there was Nick actin' like tough shit 'gainst Keith.

 

 

Keith's my buddy, you see.

 

 

Fists were bein' thrown about, comin' in close contact with cheeks and stomachs and other body parts that you wouldn't really desire to be hit.

 

 

 

 

“Fucking redneck hillbilly trash.” Nick spat, grabbin' Keith by the collar of his dirty, disgustingly stained yellow shirt.

 

 

“Fuck you, man, I wus here first!” Keith yelled back in retaliation, reachin' for his splintered bat.

 

 

“For fucks sake, both of you.” Coach growled. He pushed Nick off of the shorter red-haired man, his grip on his shirt loosenin'. “Y'all are actin' like a bunch of fuckin' children. Calm the hell down. We're all we've got, we can't bear to lose anyone else.”

 

 

Nick rolled his eyes, pullin' his magnum out of its leather holster, his hand steady on the trigger.

 

 

“This son of a bitch doesn't deserve to even be with us.” He pointed it point blank at his face, the cool barrel pressed 'gainst his warm forehead.

 

 

Keith's eyes widened in shock, his hands shootin' up. “Woah man, c'mon. I'm done fuckin' round if yew are. I ain't gonna fight anymore.”

 

 

“Nick, stop it.” Rochelle put her hands on her hips, sighin' like she always did. She acted kinda like our mother at times, stoppin' fights, lecturin' us on how to behave.

 

 

 

The group had been like this ever since Keith had returned. I had been ecstatic, overjoyed to finally find him. I mean hell, he wus my best friend! We grew up together, did all kinds of dumb shit together. So of course I wus a bit happy to see my buddy.

 

And maybe when I kissed him without really thinkin' much, that was a dumb move, yeah. But, that's when Nick decided to stop bein' the nice guy, if he ever really was that, and declared war 'gainst Keith.

_Jealous_ much?

 

 

 

Nick cocked his head, scoffin'.

 

 

He lowered his pistol, his finger fallin' off the trigger. He shook his head, laughin'.

 

 

“You just had to come and fuck everything up, didn't you?”

 

 

“Nick, what chuu even talkin' bout, man?” Keith lowered his eyebrows, face scrunchin' up in confusion. He hardly ever spoke to this guy, and now out of the blue, he was tryin' to pick fights and stir up shit. Just what in the hell _did_ he want?

 

 

Nick hastily grabbed Keith by his neck, hoistin' him a good few inches off the muddy ground. His feet dangled 'round, tryin' to throw him off balance, but his grip just grew tighter, stronger.

 

 

“You so much as piss me off...”

 

 

And that's where I come in.

 

 

“Nick, for Christ's sake!” I screamed, runnin' back towards the group, an armful of medkits and pipe bombs and other various goodies. There Nick was 'gain, causin' problems the second I turn my back away from him. “We don't have the time for this shit. We have bigger problems right now!”

 

 

“Ellis... What do you mean by that?”

 

 

The roar of a tank boomed throughout the area; cars rattlin', pavement shakin', windows breakin'. Nick dropped Keith, the younger man fallin' on his knees, chokin' for air.

 

 

I set down the large splurge of supplies, helpin' Keith stand up, pattin' him on the back. We all huddled together – me, Keith, Nick, Ro, and Coach - readyin' our weapons, searchin' rapidly for the beast.

 

 

The monstrous bein', with its giant muscular arms, emerged from behind us, destroyin' a wooden fence in its way. It dug its meaty fingers into the ground, hoistin' up a slab of pavement, hurdlin' it in the our way.

 

 

“Shit!” Nick yelled, wrappin' his arm 'round my body in a haste, shovin' me out of harm's way, like he was my goddamn Mama or sumthin'.

 

We took shelter behind an abandoned red car, squattin' down to keep out of sight.

 

 

“Why didn't chuu get Keith!?” I screeched, hittin' Nick hard 'gainst the shoulder.

 

 

“That piece of shit hick can fend for himself.” Nick said coldly, ignorin' the growin' pain in his shoulder.

 

He seemed surprised I could hit that hard, but hey, I ain't a pussy. I might be slender, albeit scrawny but I ain't no fuckin' _pussy_.

 

 

“Why do you want him dead so bad, huh?”

 

 

“Now's not the time, Ellis.” Nick sighed in frustration.

 

 

“Now's the perfect time. Why?” I demanded, crossin' his arms.

 

 

Nick spotted sumthin' in the corner of his eye, sumthin' bad and alarmin' and...

 

 

“No really, right now's not the fucking time!”

 

 

Nick pulled a pipe bomb from his belt loop, tossin' it at the humongous oncomin' herd of flesh eaters. They scurried over towards the blinkin' light, thrashin' at each other in a frenzy. A few stragglers ran over in our direction, I pumped my shotgun quickly to shoot 'em all down, the corpses fallin' with a loud splat. I threw my hand up, Nick givin' me a high five.

 

 

“Good job, kiddo.” He said, and even though he was still callin' me names, it was like he actually meant it. Like he really thought I was doin' a good job, not just bein' cocky or sarcastic, like he usually was.

 

 

“Thanks.” I said with a large grin.

 

 

We both stared at each other for a moment, like time was frozen. And it felt like we were the only two people on this Earth, and the only two that mattered.

 

 

“Kid...” Nick's magnum dropped from his grasp and he lifted his hand up to my face, brushin' his warm fingertips over my cheek.

 

 

“Nick.” I said, gulpin', my cheeks goin' warm. He started to lean in closer, my eye shuttin' in response, leanin' in just a bit myself.

 

 

The piercin' roar of the Tank echoed, car alarms goin' off as it ripped another slab of cement up, haulin' it at us. My eyes shot open and we both reverted our attention back towards the forgotten infected.

 

 

 

We ran out of the way, the cement crashin' down on the car with a loud crack, the alarm settin' off and attractin' even more flesh eaters. We steadied our guns, runnin' 'round the thin', shootin' bullet after bullet at it.

 

 

Then the beast focused on sumthin' else. Not us anymore, and not Ro who was screamin', tryin' to get the Tank's attention.

 

 

It looked down, starin' at Keith with its dead weary eyes.

 

Keith, who was still a bit dazed and out of breath, met his gaze. The tank was just loomin' over him, his body massive compared to Keith, who seemed like a small fragile ant compared to him.

 

 

Keith started gigglin', the Tank's face so out of proportion, tiny compared to the rest of him. His purple tongue was hangin' out like a dog, and his teeth were black, rottin'.

 

 

Keith kept laughin' til the Tank raised it's giant fist, smashin' it down, hittin' him hard in the stomach.

 

I screamed, tryin' to run after him but Nick grabbed onto my arms, holdin' me back, callin' me an idiot and sayin' I'd die if I tried helpin'. It was his fuckin' fault Keith was in this situation, he should've been the one helpin' him.

 

 

Keith heaved, tryin' to get air, all of his breath knocked out of him by the giant fist. He started to shake, his hands tremblin', body all over the place. He gripped onto his ribs, which we later learned were broken, ouch, and scrambled to find his gun.

 

 

The tank lifted it's arms back up in the arm, preparin' itself for a second attack, for a second poundin'. He was probably tryin' to flatten Keith, which is really disturbin' when you think 'bout it.

 

 

Keith hoisted himself up, standin' before the monster, tryin' to steady his shotgun in his hands. He pulled a shell out from his coverall's pockets, pushin' it into the gun, firin' it with all his might. The bullets bounced off of its shoulders, fallin' to the ground with little clatter. He fired 'gain at his chest, but the muscle were too thick, blockin' him from doin' any damage at all.

 

That wouldn't do.

 

 

A devious grin grew on his face, the one he always got when he was gonna do sumthin' real stupid. So he shoved the barrel of the gun clean into his mouth, 'round his gross tongue, the Tank's teeth bitin' down on the metal. He pulled his finger back on the trigger, the bullet travelin' out through the back of its thick skull, loose flesh flyin' and blood sprayin' out of the gapin' wound.

 

It really was a horrid sight.

 

 

The Tank toppled over, his body limp and now dead. Keith threw his arm up in the air proclaimin' victory.

 

 

Nick rolled his eyes, mutterin' out loud. “Show off.”

 

 

“Why yew fuckin' hate him so much, huh?” I pestered Nick 'gain, not wantin' to drop the subject from earlier. I pointed at him from behind. “What did he ever do to yew?”

 

 

Nick huffed with an exaggerated breath, runnin' his hand down his tired and ragged face.

“Jesus Christ, Ellis. Just drop it.”

 

 

“I ain't gonna drop it til you answer me.”

 

 

Nick turned 'round, facin' me, lookin' 'round with his mouth open, before meetin' my stern gaze.

 

 

“Because I love you, alright?”

 

 

I scrunched my brows in confusion, mouth gapin'. I knew Nick had feelins' for me, hell we made out and shit a few times. So of course, that weren't no secret. And hell, I really liked him too. But... love? I didn't even know Nick knew those words. And hell, I still weren't sure about how I felt 'bout all of this, bein' with Keith first and now Nick. Everythin' was real confusin'.

 

 

“Yew...”

 

 

“Right. That's right. And I don't need some dipshit hick coming to fuck it all up.”

 

 

 

“Yew... love me?” I was still shocked, I really couldn't believe it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that's how it happened!

The love triangle that was our life in the zombie apocalypse.

 

 

Wait... Did I just start frum the end of the story instead of the beginnin'...?

Awh, damn.

 

 

I just ruined it all for ya now, didn't I? God dammit.

 

 

I never said I was good at tellin' them stories, I jus' said I liked to do it.

 

 

My bad.

 

 

Anyways, this is where it really started.

From the _beginnin'_ now.

 

 

 

 

 

It was like any other day, we was workin' on them cars; Dave, Keith and I.

We was scrubbin' them, reparin' them, whatever needed to be done to them cars we took because we _needed_ that money.

 

 

It was sunny out, I reckon. And it was hot, like any other summer day in Savannah. We was all sweatin' like crazy, the fans blowin' but still not even enough to keep us all cool.

 

 

We had this little TV in our garage, we always had it on the news or sum borin' shit. And we never really paid attention to it, more jus' for background noise than to really watch it.

We was goin' about our own business 'til the TV suddenly gets real loud, and there's this reporter talkin' about a flesh eatin' virus or sumthin'.

Or no, a virus that _made you wanna eat flesh_. Disgustin', right?

 

 

We all rolled our eyes. That kinda shit don't exist except in movies. The government must be losin' it, is what we all thought.

 

The news reporter kept talkin', and then it switched to this footage sumone took.

There was this grainy video of this woman, her eyes dead cold, skin pale as snow, her body lookin' like it was rottin'. And then she jumped at this guy, gnawin' on his leg like it was a juicy burger or sum shit.

 

 

Me and Keith looked at each other, thinkin' ' _what the hell did I jus' watch_ '.

And then we get back to workin' on the cars, just goin' along with our days. Tryin' to forget that God awful visual, a person snackin' on another person. Just plain gross. We didn't think there was such thin' as a virus that could make you wanna eat flesh, just thought that maybe that woman took too much crack or sumthin'.

 

 

 

We didn't pay what was on the TV anymore mind. Just tunin' it out. The president came on to speak, talkin' about evacuatin', and we jus tune it out. Like it's nothin' important.

 

 

We was dumb.

 

 

Work was always more important.

We all was really strugglin' to afford rent and hell, I wus barely scrapin' by to even pay for food. My Mama didn't have a job no more, so I was havin' to pay for everythin'.

 

 

The door opened to our shop, the bells chimin' and Dave goes to answer it. It's this guy, a regular. He comes by every now and then to get his prized possession sports car tuned up, and comes by kinda often to just say hello.

 

 

So Dave goes and talks to the guy, and he starts goin' off about how they're tryin' to evac the state because this virus is spreadin' like wildfire. And Dave gets this concerned look on his face. It ain't so often that he's concerned, he only gets that look when he's _real_ concerned, you know what I mean?

 

 

And that's when I heard it.

 

 

That God _awful_ noise.

 

 

That gurglin' dead noise of a zombie drawin' in near, its moans and groans echoin' through the small garage.

 

 

It sumhow snuck in, probably 'cause the door was open and all. And it comes in closer, its feet draggin' 'gainst the pavement, limpin', eyes milky white and skin gray.

 

 

It was a girl, her hair red and tangled, her once pristine yellow sundress now stained with what looked like guts and blood and various other nasty things. I didn't really wanna focus on the details too much.

 

 

She limped on over, mouth openin' to expose rotted teeth, tongue purple and this disgustin' black residue in her mouth.

 

 

Keith slid out from under the car, his legs bumpin' into her, knockin' her off balance. She fell with a loud splat, her head cavin' in soft, like a melon.

 

 

But, this was the fuckin' creepy part.

 

 

 

_She got back up._

 

 

 

Her head was caved in, brain juices leakin' out, and she was still gurglin', strollin' along.

 

 

I didn't know what to do. Keith looked scared shitless out of his mind. Dave grabbed one of the monkey wrenches and tossed it at her with all his might, the tool knockin' her back onto the floor, the bone in her leg crackin', splittin' apart like a twig. She fell with a loud splat, her gooey brains scattered across the cement.

 

 

“They say yew have to hit them between the eyes, in the brain. That's the only way they gonna stay dead.” John, the man with the fancy sports car, said. He stroked his mustache.

 

 

He seemed  _way_ too calm about this situation, meanwhile all of us are flippin' our shit because, holy hell, walkin' dead girl and now she's dead, ' _gain_ . 

 

 

“What the fuck!” Keith scooted himself up off the floor, grindin' his teeth together, backin' up as far away from the rottin' corpse as possible. He looked absolutely freaked out. Hell, we all was.

 

 

I quickly walked on over to the television, crankin' it up to as loud as it would go.

 

Maybe what they was proposin' on the TV, about that virus shit, maybe it weren't so crazy. Maybe it wus actually true, I wus thinkin'. But, I still felt insane for even thinkin' that wus a possibility. Livin' dead people, I mean c'mon.

 

 

' _All of Savannah, Georgia to be evacuated. Government to set up 'safe houses' across the city to stay in until Georgia can be evaced. Evacuation to happen in Atlanta by the CEDA.'_

 

Scrolled across the bottom of the screen, in a blue ticker box with yellow font.

 

 

Keith squinted his eyes to read the tiny text, suckin' his bottom lip in to chew on it. He always had that nervous habbit, of chewin' on his lip when he was thinkin' hard 'bout sumthin'.

 

 

“They sayin' we gotta leave Savannah?”

 

 

I nodded. I mean, that's what they was sayin', right? That Savannah weren't safe no more.

 

 

“We gotta go to Atlanta, I guess. They sayin' Savannah is infected or sum shit.”

 

 

Keith stood up from the grimy, greasy floor, crossin' his arms, puffin' his cheeks out. He was thinkin'. Tryin' to comprehend this whole situation, I reckon.

 

 

“So what, we jus' head home, say goodbye, then head off to whatever they have goin' on down there? What if it's all a setup 'nd they don't even help us?” Keith said.

 

 

Dave walked over to pick up the blood-stained monkey wrench, wipin' off the gore with the end of his shirt. “I don't trust nothin' the government does.”

 

 

“What else we gonna do? If they sayin' there's flesh eatin' monsters out there, what you propose we do otherwise? Sit 'round 'nd wait to die?” I said, crossin' my arms.

 

 

“I didn't mean it like that... I just... I dunno.” Keith adjusted his red baseball cap, the white car logo on it stained with grease and grime, the bandana under it slidin' down ever-so-slightly. “Wonder what yer mama's gonna think 'bout all of this, huh, El.”

 

 

And in that moment, I realized I had totally forgot 'bout her. My mama was the person I was closest to the most, even more than Keith. 'Nd like, Keith and me, we're best buds, for life.

 

 

My mama, I could tell her 'nythin'. Talk 'bout whatever was on my mind, she never judged me. 'Nd the day I told her I was thinkin' I liked men a whole lot more than chicks, she just stood up from her rockin' chair on the porch and in the thickest Southern drawl she could muster, said she was proud of me.

 

This woman, she was your stereotypical Southern bell; she went to church every Sunday, and then sum, praised the Lord, was a stay at home mom, started a family young with her high-school sweetheart... I never thought her to react like that when I told her. Thought it was gonna go down the path of her givin' me a lecture then kickin' me out on the stoop to fend fer myself.

 

 

...Sorry right, I was gettin' a bit off topic there.

 

 

When I realized my mama was still at home, and there was those  _things_ out there, literally dyin' to taste a piece of yer flesh, it made me panic. 

 

 

I didn't wanna lose her. Hell, I  _couldn't_ lose her. She was all I got. The only person I had that was family. My dad left us when I was four, that bastard was a shit dad 'nyways, so she worked five jobs jus' to make ends meet, and so that my childhood wouldn't be complete shit. 

 

 

I needed her.

 

 

Keith apparently noticed me freakin' out, 'cause I started to breath hard, my hands beginnin' to shake, this scared out of my mind look on my face.

He put his hand on my back, rubbin' it, I think tryin' to comfort me. But, that didn't really help much, I'll tell you the truth.

 

 

“I gotta get back home...” I said.

 

 

Or more like muttered it out. It was like I was in a trance. My mind had gone blank, all I could think 'bout was goin' back to my mama, and makin' sure she was okay. Prayin' to God that she was still... That she weren't one of  _them_ . 

 

 

“I gotta get back home, to see her.”

 

 

Keith just kept starin' at me, with those green eyes of his, lookin' a bit lost for words. He never really was the one for this kinda stuff, bein' carin' and comfortin' and shit.

 

 

“El, we gonna get back, make sure she's okay. Okay?”

 

 

I nodded. It was hard for me to convey words, let alone my emotions. Everythin' was just stirrin' up in my head.

 

The dead is walkin', my mama may be one of them, how am I gonna deal wit' all of this. My mind was just racin', all of the bad things floatin' up to the top, like vegetables in a pot of my mama's stew.

 

 

“C'mon.” Keith walked out of the garage into the beamin' sun of the Georgia heat, hoppin' in his truck to pull it up front. “Both of ya, get in.”

 

 

“Be careful out there. The roads gettin' blocked up, everyone tryin' to leave.” John said, tappin' his blunt nails 'gainst the front-desk counter.

 

 

And I'll be honest, I jumped. I didn't even remember that guy was still 'round!

 

 

Me and Dave climbed into Keith's blue worn-out truck, Dave sittin' in the small seats in the back, I forever proclaimed shotgun.

 

 

Keith drove out from the garage, the muddy dirt turnin' up from the wheels. He drove onto the bumpy pavement of the back roads.

 

 

Our shop, you see... we was kinda located in the more... Hell, I'll jus' say it. We was located in the swampy area, cypress everywhere, and redneck trailer trash, _everywhere_.

We was located near a few other shops, but that little area was 'bout it.

They had their laundry mat, Sarah's diner, a hair stylin' shop, and a really small run down convenience store.

 

The folks that lived in the swamps and surroundin' trailers, that was 'bout as far as they got. I mean, they had all their daily livin' things, they had no point in goin' out any further.

 

 

 

Anyways, so we was drivin' on the back lots, my mama's house bein' a bit of a drive away from our shop. Maybe ten, fifteen minutes at max away.

'Cept now, that drive was 'bout thirty minutes; John sure was right, everybody was tryin' to get the hell out of town.

 

 

The roads were packed, bumper to bumper, cars honkin' and groanin' and the car exhaust addin' to the blisterin' heat.

 

 

“Jesus Christ.” Keith murmured out, strokin' his fingers 'gainst his slim patch of red facial hair. “It gonna take us forever to get back to your house, El.”

 

 

“Ain't there a way to get past this?” I asked, already very well knowin' there weren't. We was just gonna have to be patient.

 

 

Keith shook his head, restin' his head back up 'ginst the leather seat. “Nah, El. You know that.”

 

 

“I jus'... I'm worried 'bout her. What if she ain't there when we get there? Or... Or she's one of 'em?”

 

 

“That ain't gonna happen. Hell, when we get there, she probably gonna be waitin' for us, cookin' up sumthin' nice.” Keith gave me a toothy grin, his crooked teeth makin' it all the more cuter.

 

 

“You're right...” I tried to let go of sum of my worry, strokin' my sweaty palms 'gainst my blue coveralls.

 

 

“'Course I'm right. I always am, ain't I?” Keith said, the overconfidence in his voice just gushin' out.

 

 

“Not always. Remember that one time you said you was positive you could jump from the roof and not break your arm?” 

 

 

Keith nodded, laughin'. “And I broke it. Yeah, yeah, I ain't always right, but I am positive 'bout this. She's gonna be fine, trust me on this, 'kay, El?”

 

 

“I trust ya.”

 

 

“Good.”

 

 

Finally, after waitin' for what seemed like eternity, we started movin' a bit quicker, and trailed down the familiar streets to my house.

 

 

We drove down the roads of downtown, that was bustlin' almost more than usual. People was walkin' all over, hands full of bags, containin' food and supplies and clothin', and other people in yellow Haz-Mat suits were standin' on the corner, handin' out bags full of God knows what.

 

 

We looked 'round for a place to park, a spot just large enough open next to the sidewalk. Keith parked his truck, the lot of us hoppin' on out.

 

 

We walked down the busy street until we reached my house; it was smaller, red bricks on the outside, black worn metal rails leadin' up the steps. The houses next to it were nearly identical, the rows of complexes squished tightly together.

 

 

We walked up the stairs to the small patio, knockin' on the heavy green wooden door first.

 

 

 

No answer.

 

 

She  _always_ answers the door. 

 

 

I started to freak out 'gain, panic comin' back to me. I started to shake, started to get them cold sweats you get when you see a ghost, or get really spooked. Not that I've ever seen a ghost or nothin'. Hell, it would be mighty cool to see one. I wonder where you can find them...

 

 

 

“You have your keys, right El?” Keith asked, seein' the worry shoot back to me.

 

 

I nodded.

 

 

Mama always answers the door, but hell, I ain't stupid. Course I always have my key on me.

 

 

I searched 'round in my pocket, tryin' to find the damned thin'. I finally heard the faint jin'le of the metal, yankin' it out. I put it into the lock, turnin' it slowly 'til I heard it unlock, twistin' the bronze door handle.

 

 

We all stepped into the foyer, the hum of the radio still blastin' through the house, tunes of a classic 90's rock song playin'. I shut the door behind us, with a loud slam.

 

 

The sound of our boots clankin' echoed 'gainst the white walls; the house woulda been dead silent if it weren't for them tunes playin'.

 

 

“Mama?” I called out.

 

 

No reply.

 

 

“Patrica, you home, m'am?” Keith said, but all he got in reply was his voice echoin' back.

 

 

Dave looked 'round with weary eyes, puttin' a finger to his lips. “Hush you two... You hear that?”

 

 

Our ears perked up, strainin' to hear whatever Dave was talkin' bout. Thought the guy had finally lost it, cause there weren't nothin' to be heard.

 

 

A few moments of silence passed until... we heard it.

 

 

 

**Thump**

 

 

 

 

**Thump**

 

 

 

 

_**Thump** _

 

 

 

 

There was a loud bangin' comin' from upstairs.

 

 

Keith and I looked at each other, both kinda confused and hell, a bit scared, I gotta admit.

House was silent, Mama weren't replyin', now there was bangin' comin' from upstairs?

 

 

In the back of my mind, I still had that tiny glimpse of hope that Mama was okay. That she was breathin', maybe just packin' up sum things. That she weren't one of _them_.

 

 

“I'll go up.” I said to Keith, steppin' onto the first step of the stairs. The wood creaked under the heel of my worn boots, noisy.

 

 

**Thump**

 

 

**Thump**

 

 

 

The noise grew louder, like it was drawin' in closer.

 

 

I reached the top of the stairs, lookin' down the short hallway; there were three rooms – my Mama's bedroom, my bedroom, and the bathroom.

 

 

I looked back down at Keith, him shootin' me a thumbs up along with his goofy lopsided grin.

 

 

I creeped up to my Mama's room, body tense, twistin' the handle slowly open.

 

 

I took in a deep breath. There could be anythin' in there. I could find my Mama dead for fuck's sake, I had no idea what to expect.

 

 

 

**Thump**

 

 

 

There was that godawful noise 'gain.

 

 

I bit my lip, holdin' onto my breath, peekin' my head into the room.

 

 

It looked like a tornado had gone through there, books and pictures and clothin' all thrown onto the queen sized bed. There were a big black bag layin' in the middle of the bed, looked like it was tightly packed to the brims, seams about to burst.

 

 

But, no sight of Mama.

She weren't there.

 

 

At least her dead body weren't there also.

 

 

I was still rootin' that she'd be fine. Maybe she were just in the bathroom, or even in the kitchen, and she didn't hear us.

 

 

 

 

_**Uuuuugrh** _

 

 

 

 

I heard it, in my ear, sharp. The only noise in the whole house.

 

That _terrible_ , God-damn-awful gurglin' noise those fuckers make.

 

Like a mix of chokin' on your saliva while tryin' to spit it up, only to choke on it 'gain.

 

 

It made me shudder. That noise would be in my nightmares.

 

 

Then, on my shoulder, I feel cold breaths. Barely a breath, more like a pant.

It was short, with barely any air comin' out, just nuff to make grunts.

 

 

I turned 'round, figurin' one of them got lose and maybe got inside. Tryin' to ignore fate, prayin' God wouldn't be a bastard.

 

 

I turned, comin' face to face with...

 

 

 

I gasped, tears wellin' in my eyes.

 

 

 

Fuck. _Not this._

 

 

 

She was dead.

 

 

Starin' at me with those dead milky white eyes.

She had tears in her neck, thick, deep gouges with dark blood, black almost, seepin' from it. They looked like claw marks; I didn't really wanna know where the hell she got them from.

 

 

Her once nice brown hair was frizzled 'round the pink hot curlers she had in. Her white nightgown was stained, torn at the chest in the same pattern as what was on her neck.

 

 

“F...fuck...” I murmured. I was in shock. This couldn't be reality. This _really_ fuckin' couldn't be reality.

 

 

_Anythin_ ' but _this_.

 

 

It was just a bad dream that I'd eventually wake up from. It ain't real.

 

 

It _can't_ be.

 

 

As I was caught up in my thoughts, hot tears streamin' down my face, she lunged at me. Her sparklin' white teeth were shown, black goo residue across them, her hands, with her perfectly manicured red nails, joltin' up.

 

 

I felt weak. Helpless. Terrified.

My legs felt shaky, like noodles, 'nd it felt like I were stuck in stone. Melted into the ground.

 

 

I fell down to my knees, bare arms up in protection, as if that would keep her away.

She readied her hand, prepared to claw me, tear me to shreds. And I sat there, unable to move, unable to react, unable to really think properly.

 

 

One bite and it was over. I knew that. I'd seen enough horror films in my time.

 

 

“El?” Keith called, walkin' up the stairs. He looked over at us: me a sobbin' mess, my Mama gettn' ready to eat me like tonight's supper.

 

 

He ran over, arm out, knockin' her out of the way. She stumbled over, caught off guard by the sudden movement, a deep growl escapin' from her purple lips.

 

 

Keith searched 'round, lookin' for sumthin' to grab. Anythin'.

He grabbed a glass frog off of the bookshelf; we always did have weird trinkets on there. He smashed it into her head, the glass shatterin', shards stickin' into her skull.

 

 

“Awh, fuck, man.” He scrunched up his nose in slight disgust. That just ain't right.

 

 

He reached behind him, blindly searchin', in a hurry to grab sumethin' else. He yanked down a Bible, the book thick enough to kill a small animal, and smacked her in the head, her neck snappin'.

 

 

“Stop!” I screamed, standin' up hastily, grippin' onto his wrist, my blunt nails diggin' into his tan skin. “Don't do that to her!”

 

 

“She's dead, El!” Keith pushed me away, probably a bit harder than he meant to, causin' me to stumble backwards, my head hittin' back up 'ginst the wall.

 

 

He kicked her in the shin, the dead corpse of my Mama fallin' flat to the ground. He readied the book above her head, ready to squish her skull like an ant.

 

 

She reached out her arm, strugglin' to crawl, tryin' to claw at our flesh. She growled and grunted, and just _tried_ so _hard_.

 

 

And hell, I just wanted to let her try. You know how awful it is to see your mom, the only person you have left in your family, _dead_? But, not just regular dead. Strugglin' 'round, tryin' to _eat_ you.

It's God damn _awful_.

 

 

“I'm so sorry.” He whispered, more so to me than my mama, the book comin' down with a loud crack, her head squishin' like a soft melon.

 

 

Juices and blood seeped out, formin' a small pool 'round her dead body, coatin' the book in total grossness.

 

 

I sobbed, unable to control myself, wipin' the back of my dirty, grease covered hands 'ginst my face.

I couldn't stop cryin'. I was in total shock.

 

 

I didn't know how to deal with this. I mean, how _do_ you cope with losin' your Mama, but losin' her to fuckin' zombies? I just didn't know.

 

 

Keith pulled me into his arms, givin' me a strong embrace. I buried my face into the nook of his neck, his shirt instantly turnin' wet.

 

 

“Why did you do that?” I said, voice hoarse, breath hitchin' at the end.

 

 

“I had to, El. She was tryin' to _eat you_.” Keith said, rubbin' his palm 'ginst the small of my back. There he was 'gain, tryin' to be comfortin'. He was always sweet like that.

 

 

“But, you didn't have to kill her!” I yelled, pullin' way from him. I looked at him, feelin' a newfound sense of anger growin' in me. And I didn't know why I was angry, 'cause hell, he _did_ save me after all.

 

 

And before I realized what the fuck I was doin', I raised my hand and started hittin' him. Hard.

With a punch to the face here, and a hit to the stomach there, Keith didn't know what to do. He threw his arms up, desperately tryin' to block me, and then with one smooth move, grabbed both of my arms, one over the other.

 

 

“Ellis!” He yelled, lookin' me in the eyes sternly, his brows low. “Fuck man, she's dead! I didn't have any other choice, I'm sorry!”

 

 

“Yes, you did! Maybe she could'a been saved, maybe she weren't that bad! Maybe they could'a fuckin' saved her!” I screamed back at him. Literally screamin', my voice echoin' off the walls.

 

 

“She's dead now, Ellis! What the fuck do you want me to do!?”

 

 

“Augh!”

 

 

With all my force, I yanked my arms away, knockin' him off balance. He fell over to the floor as I lunged at him, pinnin' him down by the shoulders. I sat on top of him, starin' him down with a glare.

I felt this hate, this hate that I've never had for nobody, let alone Keith.

 

 

Fuck, never Keith. I loved this guy, so it was scarin' me, all of these emotions I didn't know how to control.

 

 

And I just sat there, on top of him, starin' him down for what felt like an eternity, my chest puffin', my breath huffin'.

 

 

“El...” Keith said to break the silence, sighin'. “I'm so sorry man, I really am. But, what's been done is done...”

 

 

Dave ran up the stairs, broom in his hands, lookin' round til he spotted us. He shook his head, walkin' down towards us, pullin' me off of Keith by the shoulder.

 

 

“I knew I shouldn't leave you two alone for more than a few seconds.”

 

 

Then he saw the corpse layin' on the ground next to us, the pool of blood and guts and the Bible next to her, and his eyes widened.

 

 

“Awh, hell... I'm sorry, El.”

 

 

I rubbed my red eyes, snifflin', my nose runnin' fast. “Keith saved me from her. She was...” I closed my eyes, wincin' as the whole scene played back in my mind in slow motion. I could just see her face, the face of what once was my ma on this piece of shit corpse... My lip pouted, quiverin' as I sniffled 'gain, “She was tryin' to eat me.”

 

 

Keith stood up, brushin' the dirt off of his already dirt-covered red overalls.

“El... I ain't tryin' to be rude and rush things, but we should pack up and head out. It's gonna get dark soon, and we need ta get back on the road.”

 

 

“Just give me a second. I wanna say bye to her.”

 

 

Keith nodded, clampin' his hand on my shoulder. “I get it.” He gave me an empathetic look, suckin' in his bottom lip 'gain, chewin' on it.

 

 

They both scurried off into the house, runnin' back down the stairs, searchin' 'round for anythin' that would be of use. And hell, we didn't really know what we needed. We didn't have no weapons, and I guess packin' clothes would be okay, and food is good. But, what the hell are you 'pposed to pack? Sorry, we didn't get apocalypse 101 trainin'.

 

 

 

I squatted back down, lookin' at her rottin' corpse. I never got to say bye to her, or say one last time that I loved her, or tell her how much she really meant to me. Hell, I hardly remember the last thin' I said to her. I think I left the house before she even woke up.

 

 

I regret everythin' I ever did now; all the fights I got in with her, all the times I fucked up in school and she had to bail me out from the principle's office, the time she caught me and Keith screwin' 'round in my bedroom. I never told her 'bout us. I mean, I hardly know what _us_ is 'cause I don't think it's typically what a relationship is like, but hell, it ain't a normal friendship, I can at least tell you that.

 

 

I brushed her hair behind her pale ear, her head mostly caved in, but a few parts of it survivin'.

I took her smaller, dainty hand into my own, holdin' it for a few seconds.

 

 

I closed my eyes. Tryin' to just imagine her, still here, holdin' me in her arms. With that great big grin on her face, her green eyes sparklin'.

 

 

_It'll all be alright, honey_. She'd say in her gentle voice. _I won't let anythin' hurt chuu._

 

 

Tears started fallin' from my eyes 'gain, trailin' down my cheeks.

 

 

I guess this was the world we lived in now, huh. Full of flesh eatin' monsters and losin' your loved ones.

 

 

I gently flipped her body over, wipin' my tears away, exmainin' the claw marks on her more closely. I still had no fuckin' clue where those even came from. And frankly, didn't really wanna imagine what did those.

 

 

“El, we gotta go!” Keith's voice called from downstairs.

 

 

I jolted upwards, takin' in a deep breath. “I'll be down there in a sec.”

 

 

I went into my room, searchin' 'round in haste for a bag, tossin' things left and right. I found my duffel bag and started throwin' things in; I threw in my jean jacket, my baseball bat that I never really got to use, a few pairs of shirts, my red flashlight, and the photo of me and my Ma from the fair last year. She had her arm wrapped 'round me and I proudly held up the goldfish I won, the ferris wheel shinnin' in the background, bright and mighty.

 

 

I slung the strap over my shoulder, the bag pretty light, not too much of a hastle.

 

 

“El!” Keith called 'gain.

 

 

“I'm comin'!” I stepped out of my room, lookin' down the hallways. This would be the last time I ever see this house. The house I grew up in, had so many memories in.

I'd never see it 'gain, _ever_.

 

 

I gulped, tryin' to take in the reality of the situation we had found ourselves in.

It definitely sucked. I mean, I always thought killin' zombies would be cool, but when it actually happens to you, it ain't all that great.

 

 

I dashed down the stairs, hand slidin' 'gainst the railin', meetin' Keith and Dave.

 

 

“I packed a bag full of food, and sum shit I found in the bathroom that might be useful.”

Keith tugged on the tote bag 'round his shoulder.

 

 

It was full of any canned goods he could scavenge, along with sum dry cereals and such, and lots of bandages and a small bottle of rubbin' alcohol.

 

 

 

“I got sum clothes and my baseball bat. Nothin' much else to grab, I guess.”

 

 

“Your bat's gonna come in handy plenty.” Keith opened the front door, all of us walkin' back out into the warm weather.

 

 

Just within the short time we were in there, the street had accumulated multiple walkin' deads, groanin' and stumblin' over their own two feet.

 

 

People were runnin' in a hurry, away from the biters, down the streets to try to get the fuck out of Savannah. Havoc was spreadin' quickly, no one was really sure how to handle this situation, not even the military, it seemed like.

 

 

People were honkin' on the roads, like that would do anythin', the zombies bein' drawn in by the sound, headin' in the direction of the noisy cars.

 

 

“Fuck, let's go.” Keith spotted a zombie that had taken notice of us, the livin' dead girl comin' in closer, her arms out and mouth open wide.

 

 

He started up the truck, the two of us quickly hoppin' in, slammin' the door shut. We rolled up the windows as she drew in closer, bangin' her pale hands 'gainst the glass. She smushed her face into the dirty window, slidin' 'round, growlin'.

Black fluids spread 'round, her eyes more yellow than white with blotches of red in them, starin' at me.

 

 

I gulped. What the _hell_ had happened that the dead was now comin' back to life.

 

 

Keith started up the engine, frantically lookin' 'round; the streets were blocked, absolutely no space, cars so packed they were all touchin'. Sum cars were left empty to take up even more space, causin' bad accidents; one car was smashed up like a soda can, I reckon.

 

 

So without much thought, Keith charged onto the sidewalks, hittin' a few dead ones on the way, speedin' by everyone who were now screamin', tryin' to get away from the zombies and now us. They probably thought we were fuckin' crazy.

 

 

I sat there laughin'. When there's a will there's a way, my mama always had said.

 

 

“I need to get sumethin' back at the shop.”

 

 

Keith kept on the sidewalks 'til we reached the dusty dirt paths leadin' back to our garage. He speeded up, parkin' the car off to the side of the shop, jumpin' out of the truck. He left the door open, lettin' a bit of air in to cool off the streamin' car.

 

 

Like, hell, it was so hot it was suffocatin', man.

 

 

Keith searched 'round the garage, throwin' all sorts of tools into the sack with the food, the cans dentin' and box of cereal smushin' in a little.

 

 

A zombie came 'round the corner, from behind the forest of Cyprus trees, draggin' it's feet, gurglin' and arms out.

 

 

“Keith!” I yelled, unzippin' the duffel bag, pullin' out all-too-pristine bat. Hell, I remember gettn' that for my birthday but never takin' it out to use it. It was a light tan wood, shiny from the varnish. Poor thin' was 'bout to get really beat up.

 

I got out of the car in a hurry, runnin' over to the thin', the bottoms of my coveralls draggin' 'ginst the pavement. I readied my bat up in the air, ready to knock the zombie's head clean off.

He turned to look at me, and I recognized him. It was that older man that stopped by sumtimes.

 

 

I bit my lip, gulpin'. My hands started to shake a bit, palms gettn' sweaty. I had to swallow down all those memories, all those sentimental thoughts. Now was no time for any of that shit.

 

 

It was life or death, now. That's just how the world was gonna work from now on.

 

 

 

I positioned the bat 'gainst the back of his head, hesitatin'. Then with a jerk of my hand, I hit him in the back of the skull, his head flyin' off, hittin' the ground hard. His mouth still moved, growlin' and his teeth clatterin'.

 

 

My eyes widened and I felt nauseous. Hell man, it was _still alive_?

 

 

I lifted my foot up, steppin' down on it with my black boot, squishin' his head like a bug. His brains splattered across the ground and all over my boot. I rubbed off my shoe in disgust, clenchin' onto my stomach, tryin' to not lose my lunch.

 

 

Keith looked at me in surprise, blissfully unaware of the flesh eater that had been approachin' him. He slung the bag back over his shoulder, a red can of gas in hand.

Just like he always was, in his own world, ignorin' reality. At least he was kinda thinkin' ahead, tryin' to get gas and all.

 

 

“Guys!” Dave screamed, peekin' his head out from the truck.

 

 

“We comin'!” Keith yelled back, takin' a few steps forward, then just froze in place, like a scared child.

 

 

“Keith man, you okay?” I asked, wavin' my hand in front of him. He grabbed onto my arm, pushin' it down, liftin' up his arm to point into the distance, behind Dave. I looked, squintin', strainin' to see whatever he was pointin' at. And then, I saw it. A large horde of zombies were comin' in close, and they were fuckin' _runnin'_. They was fast. Really, _really_ fast.

 

 

Dave saw us pointin', so he craned his neck, lookin' behind him.

Dave looked terrified, his mouth hangin' wide open and his eyes wide, lookin' like he was a deer in headlights. He watched them draw in closer, like everythin' was goin' in slow motion.

Then, he just umped out of the vehicle, and in a panic, dashed off down the road, leavin' us behind.

 

 

“Dave!” I screamed. I dropped the bloody bat on the ground, sprintin' after Dave.

 

“Ellis!” Keith yelled, lungin' at me, grabbin' onto my ankles. I fell to the floor, sneezin' as the dirt and dust got up my nose.

 

 

“You wanna fuckin' die too, huh? Dave's an idiot, but you ain't.”

 

 

“But, Dave--”

 

 

“If he wants to be a dumbass, he can be one. But, I ain't lettin' you get chewed up by them freaks too.”

 

 

“But, Dave, he's like family! We can't just...”

 

 

I felt empty. There I was 'gain, 'bout to lose another person who was like family to me. First my Mama, now Dave? What the hell was next, me losin' Keith?

 

 

I prayed to God that I would never lose him. That would be the end of me.

 

 

We watched Dave as he dashed off down the dirt roads, about nine or ten of those fuckers chasin' him fast on his heels. He was doin' good, I thought maybe he'd make it. Maybe we'd catch back up to him.

 

 

And then, he tripped over his own two feet, and that's when they got him. One after another, pilin' on top of him, like a bunch of angry ants on a pile of honey.

 

 

We pushed ourselves up off the ground, Keith shakin' his head, me clenchin' onto my stomach 'gain, feelin' like I really was gonna hurl. It was disgustin'. These once good people turned into... mindless killin' machines.

 

 

They kept pilin' on top of him, even rippin' at each other just to get a small piece of his flesh.

 

 

But their new tasty meal didn't distract all of them. Sum of them started comin' in our direction, and they also was runnin' at us. They weren't crippled like them others, these ones were fuckin' fast and they were _not_ happy.

 

 

Nah, they were _dead hungry_ , and we were their meals.

 

 

“Go!” I pushed Keith, the both of us joltin' into the truck, his bag gettn' caught on the door, the fabric rippin'.

 

 

“Close the damn door!” I yelped at him, crawlin' 'cross his lap, tryin' to pull the tote bag out of the door. We both tugged and yanked 'til the bottom of the bag split like a pair of jeans rippin'. All the tools fell out with a loud crash, pilin' up on the floor.

 

 

“God dammit!” Keith tried pickin' up as many tools as he could, shovin' the broken bag onto his lap so the food wouldn't fall out.

 

 

“Keith, c'mon! They're comin'!” I looked up, the small group of corpses barely a foot away from the door. “Keith!”

 

 

He let go of the tools, slammin' the door shut.

He threw the torn remains of the bag into the back along with the gas can. The corpses pushed themselves 'ginst the doors, 'ginst the front of the truck, even climbin' up on it. They were rockin' the truck, slammin' their fists hard 'ginst the windows.

 

 

“Start the damn car!” I demanded, yankin' the keys to turn, the engine purrin'. The zombies got more agitated, poudin' their hands harder and harder 'ginst the glass, their groans gettn' louder and louder 'til it was the only thin' we could hear anymore.

 

 

The truck was just covered in them. We were trapped inside this.

 

 

I didn't want to die. Not like this.

 

 

Keith yanked the handle into reverse, the wheels squeelin' 'ginst the ground, quickly backin' up out of the now becomin' breedin' ground for these fuckers. They all fell off onto the pavement, the car backin' up over a few of the corpses.

 

 

He drove onto the dirt roads, dust pickin' up and cloudin' the air, makin' it just the slightest bit harder to see. But, at least we could clearly see now.

 

 

“Now what?” Keith asked, rubbin' the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. I could tell, he was really gettn' stressed out. We both was.

 

 

“Atlanta.” I said. I clenched my teeth, snappin' my fingers as I remembered that I left my bat back at the garage. Well, it was gone now. Shucks.

 

 

“We still gonna go there?”

 

 

“I mean, where else we gonna go? There ain't many other options now, Keith.”

 

 

He scratched his beard, holdin' onto the steerin' wheel with one hand.

“I know there ain't. I just... What if they really ain't gonna help us there? What if they all dead by the time we get there? At this rate, it's gonna take us _at least_ eight hours to get there. Maybe we should try headin' up to Paul's house.”

 

 

I shrugged, undoin' the sleeves on my coveralls to retie them. They was gettn' kinda lose anyways.

“I know, there's a million ' _what ifs_ ' , but Atlanta's our best bet at this point. Ain't Paul live up by there 'nyway?”

 

 

“He lives close enough. Could try givin' him a call later.”

 

 

I looked out the window, a few stragglers walkin' on by, sum limpin', one of them runnin', chasin' after us.

 

 

“That could be our backup plan. Go to Paul's if all goes to hell.”

 

 

Keith speeded up, the road bumpy under the wheels. He turned onto pavement, goin' down the streets we knew so well until he reached the traffic jam, 'gain.

 

 

“I guess we could do that...”

 

 

 

 

This was gonna be a _long_ ride.

 

 

 

 

 

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

 

 

 

 

“Okay.” I squinted my eyes, lookin' out into the distance, tryin' to find sumethin'. Anythin', for that matter. “I spy with my little eye sumethin' red.”

 

 

“That brick buildin'.” Keith crossed his arms.

 

 

We had been stuck on the roads for the past five hours, or at least that's what the clock on the radio had said.

All the music stations on the radio had gone to static, only news reports on, 'bout the infection and car crashes and all that shit. The virus was just spreadin' more and more, from what they were sayin'.

 

 

The cars were still tightly packed, not allowin' much space to move. People were all tryin' to get the hell out of Savannah, I guess everyone by now hearin' 'bout Atlanta.

 

 

“Right.” I said tiredly, restin' my arm 'ginst the door.

 

 

“Okay. I spy with my little eye...” He looked forward, the sky gray, a thick smoke cloudin' it with a yellow and orange tin'e. “A fire...?”

 

 

“You ain't supposed to say the answer, Keith.” I rolled my eyes.

 

 

“Nah El, I mean, there's a fire up ahead. Looks big, too.”

 

 

A helicopter flew overheard, the sound from the propellers loud, but almost comfortin' in a way, since it brought back the sound of everyday life. Sumethin' we soon would learn that we wouldn't have no more.

 

 

“Wonder what it's from?”

 

 

I shrugged, my vision startin' to come in and out of bein' blurred. “Maybe a car crash, or sumthin'.”

 

 

Keith turned his head, lookin' at me. “El?”

 

 

My eyes fluttered, blinkin' rapidly. “Yeah?”

 

 

I yawned. Everythin' started to fade into darkness, my eyes growin' real heavy, my body feelin' like it was goin' limp. Keith's voice grew distant in my ears, and before I knew it, I was fallin' into a nice relaxin' sleep.

 

 

 

The car came to a haste halt, my body joltin', me wakin' up, comin' back to my senses. I looked 'round, the car was no longer movin', it was gettn' darker out, and I had no clue where we were.

 

 

Keith banged his head 'ginst the steerin' wheel, mutterin' curses under his breath.

 

 

“Keith?” I said weakly, my throat was feelin' kinda dry, so I tried clearin' it. The noise was loud in the car, the radio off, and well, the whole car was off.

 

 

He sighed, chewin' on his lip, lookin' at me. He looked plain exhausted, his eyes tired and havin' bags under them.

 

 

“'Ey El. I didn't wanna wake chuu up.”

 

 

“Is sumthin' wrong?”

 

 

“The...” He sighed 'gain, deeply, shakin' his head. “The cars outta gas. And there ain't no station anywhere 'round here.”

 

 

I looked behind us, where the red plastic gas can and Keith's tote bag were sittin', then back at Keith.

“Weren't there gas in that there can?”

 

 

Keith nodded. “I used it all.”

 

 

“So now what? We just gonna walk 'til we reach Atlanta?”

 

 

Keith shrugged, pullin' ripped tote bag out from the back. I unzipped my duffel bag, throwin' in the cans and cereal and first aid shit. He opened the door, steppin' out, stretchin' his legs. The air was kinda cold, but still not 'nuff for a jacket or sumthin'. I mean, it was still the summer.

 

 

“Or 'til we can find another car or sumthin'. There ain't anythin' else we can really do.”

 

 

I slung the duffel bag 'round my shoulder, openin' up the door. I walked over to Keith.

“Can't we, I dunno, ask sumone else for gas?”

 

 

Keith stretched out his arms, lowerin' his brows. “Who, El? There ain't anyone else 'round.”

 

 

And then, I took notice of that. The roads were completely full earlier, where the hell did everyone go?

 

 

“Are you sure we're on the right road?”

 

 

Keith nodded, playin' with the strap on the bag. “Yes, El. I didn't get much further than what you saw before you was sleepin'. We're sumwhere downtown.”

 

 

We began to walk, side by side, the sun startin' to set.

The sunset was quite beautiful, colors of pink 'nd red 'nd orange 'nd all blended together like a watercolor.

 

 

We kept walkin', talkin' 'bout useless shit 'til we heard this deep growl. It was a noise like no other infected had ever made, a growl from deep down in the throat.

It was, well... It was fuckin' _terrifyin'_.

 

 

And of course, neither of us had any fuckin' weapons on us. So we was lookin' 'round, the sun leavin' and makin' it harder and harder to see anythin'.

 

 

Then there it was, a man in a blue hoodie crawlin' across the road on all fours. His fingers were painted in blood, 'nd he had rips in the knees of his brown pants.

 

 

I dug 'round in my bag, pullin' out my small red flashlight. I shun it on the thin', and it jerked its head at us, eyes glowin' yellow. And then, it pounced. High up into the air with a loud scream, throwin' its arms up.

 

 

It fell on top of me, knockin' me down 'gisnt the road, and knockin' all the fuckin' breath out of me. It straddled me, sittin' on my hips, and then without much warnin', it started to _tear_ at my chest with its claws. 

 

 

I screamed bloody murder, the top of my shirt rippin', blood startin' to seep through. It was givin' me a deep gash, and diggin' its fuckin' nails deeper into it, playin' and brusin' the exposed muscle. It kept pullin', rippin', destroyin' me, and Keith just stood there, shocked. I don't think he knew how to react. Hell, I wouldn't know how to react either if I saw sum fucked up zombie clawin' out sumone's insides.

 

 

After awhile of just gawkin', he pushed it off of me. The hooded man stumbled, then turned its attention to Keith. It lunged, flyin' back up into the air, landin' behind him. It growled 'gain, the noise so unnervin' to the ears, the kinda sound a demon would make.

 

 

I held tightly onto my chest, blood drippin' down my fingers, spillin' onto the road. It hurt so fuckin' badly, I could barely focus on the situation, let alone the monster.

 

 

Keith started yellin', hittin' it, and the thin' tried clawin' back at him, not afraid to use those daggers of nails he had.

 

 

Meanwhile, I fell down to my knees, gaspin' from the pain. Everythin' was goin' blurry, and everythin' just seemed so dark. Pitch black.

 

 

I thought I was gonna fuckin' die. I mean, I had no idea if just bein' scratched by one of those things would kill ya, but if that didn't, I surely was gonna bleed to fuckin' death.

 

 

I started prayin' to God, that by sum chance of a miracle that I'd be able to live, at least just not die on the fuckin' road while Keith is tryin' to fight that thin' off. At least give me two or three more hours of this life. I didn't wanna die just yet.

 

 

“El!” Keith screamed, revertin' his attention back to me. His voice was waverin' in my eyes, goin' in and out. I felt real loopy.

 

 

I lifted my head, everythin' still blurry and it looked almost as if all color was fadin' out, like everythin' was goin' black and white. Keith seemed so distant, like he was standin' 100 miles away when he was just right there.

 

 

Keith dug through his bag, pullin' out the bottle of rubbin' alcohol and a roll of white gauze. He helped me lay down and pulled my shirt quickly off of me.

 

 

“Don't die, El. Stay with me, please.” Keith pleaded, warm tears drippin' from his face onto my growin' cold skin. “I can't lose you.”

 

 

My eyes started to grow heavier, felt like I was gettn' real sleepy and that's all I wanted to do, sleep. My eyes fluttered close, and everythin' in my ears started to fade out. Everythin' felt numb. Like I was floatin'.

It was a pleasant feelin'.

 

 

Then, my cheek started to sting, and I jolted up. Keith, who was now sobbin' at this point, had slapped me to get me awake. Apparently he had been screamin' my name, but I had no idea.

 

 

Keith was pressin' my shirt into my chest, pushin' it down real hard. He frantically looked 'round, the first aid supplies layin' down next to him.

 

 

“Hold this.” He said to me, adjustin' so I was holdin' the shirt down, tryin' to stop the blood from pourin' out.

He uncapped the top of the rubbin' alcohol then pushed my hand away. He took the shirt from me, ballin' it up, pourin' a good portion of the liquids onto a small spot of it.

 

 

“This is gonna sting like hell. Hold on, El.”

 

 

He dabbed the shirt onto the gash, I clenched my teeth, gruntin'. It stung like a motherfucker.

He kept dabbin' it 'round 'til the whole thin' was just goin' kind of numb from the pain.

 

 

He unrolled the gauze, wrappin' it 'round my chest tightly, makin' sure to cover the gashes a few times over.

He ripped the roll off with his teeth once he was done, tuckin' the lose end under the layers.

 

 

He put the cap back onto the bottle then looked at me, sighin'.

 

 

“El...”

 

 

He wrapped his arms 'round me, pullin' me in, embracin' me. He kissed my cheek, my cheeks goin' warm after that.

 

 

“Fuck, El, I love you. You can't leave me.”

 

 

I pushed my head into his shoulder, shakin' my head. “I ain't ever gonna leave you, Keith.”

 

 

“...You promise?” He said, his voice hoarse.

 

 

I nodded. “I promise.”

 

 

 

Keith nodded, pullin' 'way. He wiped his nose on the back of his hand, inhalin' deeply. He stood up, pullin' me up with him. He put everythin' back into the duffel bag, slingin' it 'round his shoulder.

 

 

“Once we get into town, we gonna get that checked out. I fuckin' pray it won't get infected or shit.”

 

 

I held my breath, faintly brushin' my fingertips over the gauze, sum of it still damp with fresh blood. “I ain't... I ain't gonna turn into one of _those_ , am I?”

 

 

Keith looked at me, and he just stared. He didn't blink, didn't say nothin', just _stared_.

Then he shook his head, closin' his eyes. “Nah, El. I ain't ever gonna let that happen to you.”

 

 

I bit my lip nervously. “But, what if gettn' scratched, what if that turns you? What if I--”

 

 

“Enough, El!” Keith yelled, turnin' 'round so his back faced me. He crossed his arms, sighin'. “You ain't gonna fuckin' turn into one of those.”

 

 

“You, we, don't know that. What if I do? What if I suddenly turn into one of those fuckin' things, and I try eatin' you?” I cringed at the visual of me tryin' to snack on Keith like a juicy hamburger.

 

 

“You...” Keith's voice was growin' shaky. “You ain't gonna turn into one of those. We're done with this conversation.”

 

 

 

Keith turned to look at the lifeless body of the monster, kickin' it in its stomach. “Fucker.”

 

 

I looked down at my bloodied torn up shirt. The air between us felt tense, tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

 

 

I bent down, pickin' up my torn shirt. I smoothed it out, examinin' it, cockin' my head. Those claw marks... Those were the same that were on my Mama. One of those fuckers must've gotten my Ma too.

 

 

“That's the thin' that killed my Mama too.” I said out loud, more to myself than Keith, but, he heard it 'nyways.

 

 

“She had those same claw marks...” Keith pulled his hat off, readjustin' his bandana. He put his cap back on, sighin'. “What kind of fuckin' world are we livin' in 'nymore?”

 

 

“A fucked up one.” I pulled my shirt back on over my head, careful not to mess with the bandages. I looked up at the sky, the stars twinklin' in the midst of the night.

 

 

“'Ey Keith, you remember how on the TV back at the shop, they said the government was gonna set up safe houses?”

 

 

“Yeah.”

 

 

“We should find one of 'em. I think it's worse if we try walkin' on foot when it's dark like this.”

 

 

Keith nodded. “I see your point there.”

 

 

We started walkin' 'gain, and pain flared up in my chest, a burnin' sensation. I clenched onto it. It was like a fire was inside my chest. It stung like high hell.

 

 

Keith squatted down, pattin' his back. “Get on.”

 

 

I looked at him, suckin' in my lips. “You sure?”

 

 

“I'm sure.”

 

 

I got on his back, wrappin' my arms 'round his shoulders. “...Thanks.”

 

 

He nodded, walkin' down the empty roads, adjustin' the strap of the bag that wanted to just keep slippin' off his shoulder. “It's like old times, when I use to give you piggy back rides as a kid.”

 

 

I chuckled. “Those were fun.”

 

 

There was that long damn pause 'gain, silence growin' strong between us.

 

 

“Hunter.”

 

 

“Huh?” Keith said, confused.

 

 

“I was tryin' to think of a name for that zombie. Hunter.”

 

 

“Why _hunter_?” Keith laughed.

 

 

“Cause, it was like pouncin' and clawin'. Like it was huntin' for meat.”

 

 

Keith shook his head, still laughin'. “Guess it's kinda suitin'.”

 

 

 

 

Awkward silence.

 

 

 

 

“El?”

 

 

“Hm?”

 

 

Keith swallowed hard, pausin' for at least a minute. Then he opened his mouth 'gain, breakin' the growin' silence.

 

 

“When we get out of this...” He craned his neck, his green eyes meetin' my own. “When we get to Atlanta, and they get us out of this shit, will you marry me?”

 

 

My mouth dropped open, Keith laughin'. Did he really just say... Did he really just say that?

I was shocked. First everythin' was gettn' real tense and hell, I thought he was really mad at me, but then... he goes and says this?

 

 

Like I said, I didn't even fuckin' know what our relationship was. Yeah, we kissed, and we sumtimes said we loved each other, but, hell, I never thought Keith was the kind that wanted to settle down 'nd get married.

 

 

I stared at him blankly, my lip quiverin', mouth goin' dry.

 

 

“Yes.”

 

 

Keith grinned. “Really?”

 

 

“Yes.” I said 'gain, completely dazed.

 

“That really scared me, El. I thought I had lost you... And it made me realize just how much I love you. I never wanna be separate from you.”

 

 

“Keith...” My cheeks started to go warm 'gain, and I felt like a fuckin' high school girl with her crush.

 

 

We kept walkin' for awhile longer, not really talkin' much, both of us just dead tired.

 

I started to doze off 'gain, leanin' my head 'gainst Keith's shoulder.

 

 

“I see light ahead!” His voice carried me back into reality as I looked up, seein' what looked like street lights 'head.

 

 

“Hell yeah!”

 

 

Keith started to run, holdin' tightly onto me. The lights came more and more into focus as he ran, the precious light shinnin' from street lights, and buildin's. We reached the midst of downtown, seemin' what looked like mostly populated of live bein's. Not those flesh eatin' freaks.

 

 

Keith looked 'round, people runnin' with suitcases and sleepin' bags and cryin' children followin' their moms. A few men in yellow Hazmat suits that said _CEDA_ on them stood on the corners, handin' out bags.

 

 

Keith went up to one of them, tryin' to catch his breath first.

 

 

“How many hours 'way from Atalanta are we?”

 

 

“Four or five hours in current traffic.” The man replied, his voice muffled by his large face mask.

 

 

Keith nodded. He looked kinda disappointed, but, at least we weren't back still at home.

 

 

“Is there one of them safe houses we can stay in, at least?”

 

 

The man pointed behind him at a large buildin' with a red steel door. “Right there.”

 

 

Keith tipped his hat. “Thank ya kindly.” He headed towards the buildin', steppin' into what seemed like a grocery store, but now was a holdin' place for survivors. Cots and sleepin' bags were spread out on the floor for people, a lot of people already takin' them up. There were families, alone children, cryin' mothers. It was depressin' to see.

 

 

“Can you walk?” Keith asked, me noddin'. He lowered me down, holdin' onto my arm so I didn't stumble or sumthin'. I took in a deep breath, my chest still stin'in', but I could take it.

 

 

We walked to the back of the store, seein' a small cot open near a section of emptied refrigerators. The cot was blue, with a cream colored blanket over it.

 

 

We settled on it, settin' our bag down next to it, sighin'.

 

 

The wall next to the cot was covered in writin', messages from one person to another. Letters tellin' where to meet, people sayin' how much they loved one another... even suicide notes.

 

 

“In the mornin', we should go lookin' for a gun shop or sumthin'. We don't have any weapons, and that ain't gonna be good for long.”

 

 

“If I remember, there's one 'round here. I recognized that hotel, I think I know where we are.”

 

 

I stroked my palms 'gainst the legs of my coveralls. “I'm gonna go try to find sumone to see 'bout my chest.”

 

 

“I'll come too.”

 

 

I shook my head. “Nah, Keith. Just rest, you need it. I'll be fine.”

 

 

“...You sure?”

 

 

I nodded. “I'm sure.”

 

 

Keith laid down, stretchin' out his legs. He pulled the blanket over himself, his back up 'ginst the wall. He took his cap off of his head, layin' it down next to him.

 

 

I wandered back to the front of the store, openin' the heavy metal door, steppin' back out into the busy night. I looked 'round for the CEDA guys, figurin' that they'd be the best to ask.

 

 

I saw one standin' near a street light, down the street. I started walkin' over towards him, holdin' onto my chest. It was still hurtin' pretty bad, and I was feelin' lightheaded, but hell, he carved out my chest 'nd poked 'round in there, course it was gonna hurt.

 

 

I started gettn' closer to CEDA guy, and as I got closer, I saw two women standin' in front of him, wearin' jean shorts, one with a large bite taken out of her pale leg. The muscle was exposed, and it was still bleedin', the blood drippin' down her ankle.

 

 

“Please, just help us! She got attacked!” The non-bitten lady yelled, pointin' to the other's leg. The bitten lady was leanin' on her, liftin' up the bitten leg.

 

 

“It hurts so much...”

 

 

“I know, sweetie. Just hold on. It's all gonna be okay.”

 

 

The CEDA guy looked at her, then without so much as flinchin', he yanked out a black handgun from his belt 'nd pointed it at her forehead, pullin' the trigger back. And I just stood there, fuckin' in awe, because shit, he just shot her in the fuckin' head!

 

 

Her body fell down to the street with a loud thump, the lady next to her screamin', hittin' the guy. And he just shot her too, point blank in the head, like he didn't fuckin' care at all.

 

 

I stood there, eyes wide, grippin' onto my chest.

 

 

“We don't help the Infected.” He said out loud, his gaze meetin' mine.

 

 

He looked at me holdin' onto my chest, and my ripped up shirt covered in blood.

Then he started walkin' up to me, still holdin' onto his handgun, finger ready on the trigger.

 

 

I started to dash in the other direction, my thoughts just racin' in my head. I was started to have second thoughts now 'bout these people if they will just fuckin' shoot two fuckin' innocent women. Yeah, she was bitten, but hell, he could've _tried_ helpin' her. And he surely didn't havta shoot her friend!

 

 

As I was runnin', I turned my head, and shit, he was  _chasin'_ after me. I started pushin' through the crowd of people. People were yellin' at me, callin' me an asshole and sum pushed back, but hell, I didn't wanna die because this fucker didn't care 'bout savin' people, and just thought shootin' them was better.

 

 

I frantically looked 'round, lookin' for anywhere to hide. No place to turn into, no bush to hide in, no trashcans even. What the hell was I gonna do, was what I was thinkin'. And I started to feel real faint, my chest was just poundin' with pain, my legs were goin' weak. I didn't know where to fuckin' turn.

 

 

I kept runnin' til I smashed into a guy. A guy wearin' a fuckin' white suit with a blue shirt. And then I was thinkin', who the hell wears a white suit? And secondly, who the hell wears a white suit in the fuckin'  _zombie apocalypse_ ?

 

 

He pulled his cigarette out from his mouth, the smoke leavin' in his breath as he yelled at me.

“Watch it, kid!”

 

 

“S...Sorry. I just...” I panted, bendin' over. I couldn't catch my breath. “I need ta hide.”

 

 

He pointed at a small chalkboard sign that was sittin' next to restaurant. I looked up, thankin' God, cause maybe I really wasn't gonna die today.

 

 

“Thank ya so much.”

 

 

I dashed behind the sign, squattin', breathin' real hard. The CEDA man in the haz-mat suit ran by, not payin' either of us any attention.

 

 

I waited a second, peekin' up above the sign to make sure it was clear. That he wasn't gonna find me.

 

 

“Kid, it's fine. The big meanie's gone.” He took another puff of his cigarette before droppin' it to the ground, squishin' it with his brown dress shoes.

 

 

“That guy...” I stood up, still nervous as hell and adrenaline runnin' high. “That guy, he shot these two girls right in front of me, 'nd he was tryin' ta fuckin' kill me too.”

 

 

 

The man nodded his head, seemin' not interested in my story at all. He shoved his ringed fingers into his pants pockets. “And, he was trying to kill to you why?”

 

 

“Cause I got clawed out by this zombie and he didn't wanna help nobody.”

 

 

He rolled his eyes, turnin' his back to face me. “Kid, I could care less about your problems. Go back and find your parents.”

 

 

“My mom died this mornin', asshole.” I said under my breath, and then he turned 'round, shootin' me a dirty glare. I guess he heard me or sumthin'.

 

 

“My ex-wife died this morning.”

 

 

“'m sorry.”

 

 

He shrugged. “She was a bitch anyways. She got what was coming for her.”

 

 

I stepped a bit closer to him, adjustin' my hat, reachin' out my arm to him. “Name's Ellis. What's churs?”

 

 

He just stared at my hand, givin' me a look like, ' _you really think I'm gonna touch that_ '. Or at least, that's what I got from him.

 

 

“...Nick.”

 

 

I lowered my arm after a minute of awkwardness had passed, and the message that he weren't gonna shake my hand was received. “Nice to meet chuu, Nick.”

 

 

“Yeah, okay. I'm off now. Bye, ' _Ahylus_ '.”

 

 

He started walkin' off, blendin' in to the crowd of people. I just stood there, thinkin', did he _really_ just mock my name?

 

 

Nick, though... He was actually kinda cool. Just standin' there in his white suit with all his cool rings smokin' a cigarette.

 

 

I started makin' my way back to the store, navigatin' through the sea of people. I reached the store, havin' to ask for permission to get back in, confirmin' that I weren't no zombie.

 

 

I made my way to the back of the store, Keith comin' into sight. He was layin' on the cot, back 'ginst the wall, passed out.

 

 

I laid down next to him, takin' my cap off, settin' it down next to our bag. I wriggled my way under the blankets, tryin' to fit on the small cot.

 

 

Everythin' was really uncomfortable. Havin' to sleep in a store next to a cold refrigerator on a tiny cot meant for one person with a paper thin blanket, and with those overhead lights blarin', and surrounded by people we'd never seen in our life. And I still had that terrible visual in my mind of that guy shootin' that woman, and in the brains...

 

 

But, at least I had Keith, I thought. If I didn't have him, I don't know how it would have all gone. It wouldn't have been the same. Hell, I probably woulda been fuckin' dead if I didn't have him. He saved me, what, multiple times today? From my Ma first, and then that hooded guy.

 

 

Keith stirred awake, his eyes blinkin' open, lookin' at me sleepily. “'Ey, El. Did chuu get your chest checked out?”

 

 

I shook my head, pushin' my head into his chest. “Nah.”

 

 

“Why not?” He said, surprised.

 

 

“When I went... There was this girl and she was bitten and... The guy just shot her. And then he started chasin' after me.”

 

 

“Chasin' after you? Like he was gonna shoot you too or sumthin'?”

 

 

“Yeah. And then I met this cool guy and he helped me hide.”

 

 

Keith lowered his eyebrows, movin' his arm to touch me on the chest. “El, I'm jus' still real worried 'bout chuu.”

 

 

“We can try findin' supplies in the mornin' 'nd takin' care of it. We can do it ourselves.”

 

 

“I guess...”

 

 

 

There was a long pause between us, the sound of others chatterin' loud.

 

 

 

“You're my savior, you know that?” I said, muffled.

 

 

“I know I am.” He said proudly, snickerin'.

 

 

“Cocky much.”

 

 

Keith laughed, wrappin' his arms tightly 'round me. He kissed the top of my head.

“G'night, El.”

 

 

“G'night, Keith.”

 

 

 

 

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

 

 

 

“El.”

 

 

Keith shook me awake, my eyes flutterin' open, the overhead lights of the store were all shut off. Keith moved, the cot creakin' loudly, his body on top of mine. He stared down at me, breathin' hard, chewin' on his lip.

 

 

I looked at him, eyes still sleepy, but heart beatin' fast in my chest. He leaned down closer, closin' the gap between us, kissin' me. His lips were soft, a bit chapped cause hell, we were both dehydrated as hell. But, they were soft, and... nice.

 

 

I kissed him back, wrappin' my arms 'round his neck. His small patch of facial hair rubbed 'ginst my stubble, ticklin' my chin.

 

 

He slyly looked 'round, seein' that everybody else was sleepin', slippin' his hand down under the covers, slidin' it under my coveralls.

 

 

I bit my lip, the feelin' of his fingertips slidin' 'ginst my skin sendin' sparks of pleasure and chills down my spine. His fingertips were calloused and warm, the perfect combination, if I might say so.

 

 

He kissed my neck, suckin' on the skin there, his fingers gettn' busy. “I just wanna take you all in. I _need_ to.” 

 

 

I craned my neck back, allowin' him more room, breath hitchin' as his fingers worked their magic, rough skin 'ginst sensitive.

 

 

“God, El.” He whispered, nibblin' on the bottom of my ear.

 

 

 

He worked his hand, bringin' me closer and closer to release, ecstasy washin' over me as my back arched, my body pressin' closer into Keith's.

 

 

I panted, sweat drippin' down my forehead.

 

 

He pulled his hand back up, strokin' a finger down my cheek. He kissed me 'gain before slidin' off of me, his back pressed 'ginst the wall 'gain.

 

 

“You woke me up just fer _that_?” I asked, smirkin'.

 

 

Keith rolled his eyes. “I needed that. I needed to feel you, to feel like _sumthin'_ was real at least.” 

 

 

“Well, I can confirm, I am definitely real.” I wrapped my arms 'round his neck, kissin' his cheek. I snuggled back into him, tryin' to fall back asleep.

 

 

But I couldn't. The sound of people runnin' by, the fires of gunshots, people cryin' and screamin'... It was just all too much to fall asleep to.

 

 

I flinched every time a shot went off, Keith rubbin' my back, tellin' me it was gonna be okay.

 

 

And I repeated that back to myself in my mind.  _It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. It's all okay._

 

 

I really tried to believe that.

 

 

 

The hours were passin' painstakingly slowly, and finally the sun started to shine in through the windows. People started to wake up, leavin' the store to let more people come on in.

 

 

Keith had sumhow fallen back asleep so I weren't gonna wake him. Figured he really needed his rest. So I laid there, lettin' him be, tryin' to distract myself sumhow.

 

 

I carefully sat up, movin' his arms off of me. The cot creaked as I moved, loud, but luckily not nuff for him to wake up.

 

 

I unzipped my duffel bag open, pullin' out the framed picture of me and my Mama. I bit my lip, my eyes rapidly blinkin', tryin' to stop the tears from fallin'.

 

 

I missed her.

 

 

It had only been a few hours, but goddamn. I  _really_ missed her. Her calmin' voice, the smell of pancakes in the mornin', her sayin' that she loved me. 

 

 

Her and Dave would be together now, in a better place. Hell, any place was better than where we were now.

 

 

I put the picture back into the bag, searchin' 'round for a new shirt. I pulled out a black one, a picture of Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s car on it. And if you don't know who that is, he is only the _best_ stock car racer. Like, if I could, I would fuckin' bear his children. That man... oh man, I _love_ that man. 

 

 

I yanked off the tattered yellow shirt, throwin' it into the bag, pullin' on the black shirt. I smoothed it out, pickin' up my hat, puttin' it back on my head.

 

 

I searched 'round in the bag for sumthin' to eat, pullin' out the cereal box. I opened it up, diggin' my hand into the bag, eatin' a few pieces of the dry cereal. I was fuckin' starvin', I hadn't eaten since, what... Noon yesterday? A long time, man.

 

 

I munched on the cereal blissfully, thinkin' 'bout all the good times I had with Dave and Keith. All the dumb things we did, all the pranks we played in high school. Those were the good times.

 

 

I felt the cot move behind me, Keith stirrin' awake, sittin' up. He stretched his arms, yawnin'. “Mornin'.”

 

 

I turned my head, grinnin' at him, cheeks stuffed with cereal. “Mornin'.”

 

 

He laughed, pullin' a handful of breakfast out of the box. “You ready to head out soon?”

 

 

I nodded, foldin' back up the box, stuffin' it into the bag. “I am if you are.”

 

 

Keith swung his legs over the cot, rubbin' his eyes. “Let's go.”

 

 

We stood up, snatchin' up our bag, walkin' towards the front of the store. Keith unlocked the heavy iron door, swingin' it open. The red paint on the door was already wearin' off, the caution tape fallin'. We stepped back out onto the roads, and it was _dead_ silent. There were nobody walkin' round, unlike last night. 

 

 

We looked at each other, both kinda confused. I guess maybe everybody was sleepin' or left already or sumthin'. Hell, I didn't know.

 

 

“I think the gun shops that way.” I pointed left, Keith noddin' in response. We walked down the streets, it was almost peaceful out, if you could call it that. The air was still a bit cool from the night, the sun not fully blarin' at us yet.

 

 

There were dead bodies all along the sidewalks, stacked on top of each other, sum of them lookin' like they were charred, burnt. Didn't really wanna imagine why they were like that, hopin' they were just caught in a fire, but wouldn't surprise me if CEDA had anythin' to do with it.

 

 

“There it is!”

 

 

I saw a familiar lookin' sign, Pete's gun shop. I came here sumtimes with my shit Dad when I was real little. He was always into guns and all that shit, guess cause he wanted to be real  _manly_ . Not that he ever was. 

 

 

We walked into the shop, the doorbell ringin'. The walls were mostly empty, dust spots remained where guns used to hang. The place had been looted long before, only a few guns bein' left. There was sum handguns, and a few nice lookin' rifles. Was wonderin' why no one took those, but they probably was too busy tryin' to loot the rest of the place.

 

 

I snatched up two pistols, lookin' 'round for a holster to put them in. Keith took down the rifles, one for the each of us. He rubbed his shirt 'ginst them, polishin' them off.

 

 

I looked under the counters, findin' a brand new holster, strappin' it onto my leg. I slid the pistols into it, takin' the rifle from Keith. I examined it, the wood a burnt tan, and the texture smooth. It felt nice to hold. Hell, I felt badass holdin' it, I'll be honest. I always really liked them guns. Was always a dream of mine to own one of 'em.

 

 

“What are these?” Keith wandered to the glass counter, a cardboard box sittin' on top of it, full of red miniature backpacks with med symbols on 'em. He unzipped the sides zippers, bandages 'nd disinfectant wipes 'nd other medical shit fallin' out.

 

 

“Holy shit, they're full of med supplies!”

 

 

“Wonder if that CEDA place was makin' those?”

 

 

Keith picked up the scattered supplies 'nd walked over to me, yankin' on my shirt. “We should change those bandages.”

 

 

He searched through the rest of the small bag, seein' if anythin' else was gonna be much of use. He kept lookin' 'til he pricked his finger, yelpin'. He pulled out a small needle and a piece of thick thread, then looked at me.

 

 

I gulped. Awh, _hell_.

 

 

“...This could be really good, El.”

 

 

I pulled off my shirt. The bandages were covered in dried red blotches, the white a minimum compared to the crimson.

“Just do it.”

 

 

He pulled the bandages off of me, the marks on my chest startin' to look a bit nasty.

 

 

He ripped open a disinfectant wipe packet with his teeth, takin' out the small towel, wipin' it cross my chest. I winced, it still burnt like hell, but I knew it was helpin' so it wouldn't get infected. That's all we needed, for the wound to get infected and me gettn' sick. Would make everythin'  _so much_ easier. 

 

 

He threw the towelette onto the ground, reachin' for the needle, tryin' not to prick himself agian. He threaded it carefully, takin' in a deep breath.

“I ain't ever done this before.”

 

 

“Don't fuckin' say that!”

 

 

“Well, I'm just bein' honest!”

 

 

I really don't know why I was trustin' Keith, the guy that got burns over ninety percent of his body, that tried wrestlin' racoons, that almost died hundreds of times 'cause he was an idiot, with a needle. Why I trusted him with sewin' me back up, was a stupid thin' on my part.

 

 

“This is gonna... It's gonna hurt like hell.”

 

 

“Oh yeah, thanks.” I closed my eyes, clenchin' my jaw, gettn' ready for what would probably be the second most painful thin' in my life. First bein' when that fucker, well, did this to me.

 

 

Keith took in another shaky breath, and without much of a warnin' came a prick. A prick that made the needle feel like it was on fire, like it was a million degrees, and then with a pull, the skin started to come back together.

 

 

I fuckin' screamed, grippin' onto Keith so I didn't fuckin' pass out. Hell man, I've had stitches before but, doin' it with an unsterilized needle with no numbin' shit, that just makes it like, a million times worse.

 

 

“El!” Keith stopped, 'nd I opened my eyes, lookin' at him.

 

 

“J...just keep goin'! It makes it worse if you fuckin' stop!”

 

 

He nodded, the needle goin' back into my flesh, and not with ease. Keith was usin' all his strength to thread the needle through my chest, battlin' the oncomin' blood that decided to pour out.

 

 

My grip on him just got even stronger, puttin' all my weight onto him, like he was my fuckin' anchor. Tears were prickin' at the corners of my eyes, just beggin' to fall down. I was doin' everythin' in my might to not scream 'gain.

 

 

He kept sewin' me back up, the skin gettn' tighter, everythin' come back together. Finally, and thank fuckin' God, he was finally done. He ripped the thread off with his teeth, exhalin' loudly.

 

 

“It's done.”

 

 

I let go of him, touchin' my sore as fuck chest. “...Thanks.”

 

 

He reached for the towelette 'gain, wipin' away all the excess blood. Then he picked up the bandages, dressin' me up tightly, a snug fit.

 

 

“Does it feel okay? It ain't too tight, is it?”

 

 

I picked up my shirt, pullin' it over my head, back onto me.

 

“It's perfect.”

 

 

Keith grinned wide, zippin' the backpack up, slidin' his arms under the straps, puttin' it on his back. He picked another one out of the box, tossin' it to me. I slung it over my shoulders with my duffel bag. Med supplies were gonna really come in handy, I was now realizin'.

 

 

“El?”

 

 

“Huh?”

 

 

“Don't ever make me do that 'gain.”

 

 

I chuckled, pickin' my rifle up, checkin' it over. Made sure the magazine was all loaded and good, made sure the safety was still on, cause hell, I'd probably be the one to shoot my foot or sum shit on accident.

 

 

“Can't make any promises.”

 

 

Keith rolled his eyes, slingin' the strap of the rifle over his shoulder.

 

 

“Ready to go?”

 

 

I nodded, headin' back towards the front of the store, openin' up the glass doors. We stepped foot back out into the street, and... We both exchanged glances.

 

 

The street, that had just been clear, where we had been completely and utterly in solitude...

It was now full of growlin', moanin', hobblin' freaks.

 

 

They started to take notice of us, 'nd my teeth started to clatter. I'd never seen _this_ many in one place.

There were probably like, fuckin', fifty of them or sumthin'.

 

 

I yanked one of my pistols out of the holster, unclickin' the safety, pinpointin' the oncomin' zombies, shootin' them on the money.

 

 

That one shot started to attract _all_ of them, their bodies turnin', takin' notice of our sweet flesh. And all of those fifty or so flesh eaters, they started to race at us.

 

 

Keith and I, we started runnin' like we was in a marathon. Runnin' past them, down the street, the reanimated corpses hot on our heels.

 

 

We kept runnin', turnin' to try to shoot sum of them down occasionally, when they got way too close for comfort. We kept goin' til we froze stock still, a girl sittin' with her knees pushed into her chest, cryin'. Her legs were gray with blotches of black, and her hands were... They was like claws. Like Edward Scissorhands claws, man.

 

 

“M'am?” Keith said, lookin' behind him frenziedly, the zombies drawin' in closer, and time just bein' wasted.

 

 

“Keith, c'mon!” I tugged on his arm, lookin' ahead, seein' a tall hotel. Maybe we could take shelter in there, or sumthin', I was thinkin'.

 

 

“Wait, El! She might need help.” He reached out, touchin' her on the shoulder. And hell, I knew sumthin' wasn't right with this girl. I mean, she had fuckin' claw fingers, that ain't normal human shit!

 

 

Her head jerked, and she started to stand up, her cries ceasin' and now just turnin' into screams. Her hands went straight up into the air, 'nd she started to get real pissed off at us. And then she started to chase after Keith. So now we had to run from them zombies, and this weirdass girl.

 

 

I positioned the rifle to my eye, lookin' through the scope, her head perfectly linin' up. I tugged off safety, finger on the trigger, ready to blow her brains out.

 

 

“El, behind you!” Keith yelled, liftin' up his gun, desperately tryin' to get her away from him, and to kill her.

 

 

I turned 'round, a small child in a bathrobe with chatterin' teeth tryin' to make my leg into a tasty snack. I hit her away with the butt of the rifle, shufflin' away from the horde.

 

 

I looked back up at Keith, the sound of his gun bein' fired loud and just angerin' the corpses even more, like before.

 

 

The weird girl with the white hair fell down to the ground, fallin' face first, her body all stretched out.

 

 

“Witch!” He yelled at me, smirkin'.

 

 

“Huh?”

 

 

“Remember how you was namin' zombies? I think that one's a Witch.”

 

 

I cocked my head. “Why?”

 

 

He shrugged. “Cause it's ugly, like a witch.”

 

 

I chuckled. “I see yer point there.”

 

 

Suddenly the loud sound of a chopper flyin' by sumwhere near sounded. It was loud in the sky, and it was drawin' in closer, like it was 'round the corner. But, as much of a good thin' the 'copter was, it was bad. Cause as soon as it started gettn' more where it was above us, a whole new horde of zombies came runnin' by.

 

 

And before I knew it, Keith was surrounded by the new oncomin' horde 'nd I was gettn' surrounded by the old one.

 

 

“Keith!” I screamed, firin' my gun at anythin' I could, tryin' to help him out. I shot down a few that were gettn' too close for comfort, drawin' in on him.

 

 

“El, go!' He yelled back at me, gesturin' with his hand, wavin' it 'round. “Keep runnin', I'll catch up to you!”

 

 

“I ain't fuckin' leavin' you!” I tried to get closer to him, but to no avail, the freaks bitin' back at me, keepin' me at a good distance away from Keith.

 

 

“You ain't leavin' me cause I'll be right there. Just go! I'm gonna find you!”

 

 

I took in a deep breath, suckin' in my lips. I looked behind me, shootin' down a few zombies to make a small path. I started runnin' towards the hotel, and I don't know what part of me said it was okay to leave him, but all my good senses turned off in that moment, and I just went into survival mode.

 

 

“You better catch up to me!” I yelled, lookin' back one last time.

 

 

“I will, I promise!”

 

 

I opened the heavy doors to the hotel, coughin' as the smell of smoke was strong in the air. Smelt like a fire was comin' from sumwhere inside the buildin'.

 

 

I looked 'round, tryin' to find where the hell the stairs was located. The lobby was empty, a few stragglers lose 'nd not botherin' anyone, so I just let them be.

 

 

I dashed over to the stairs, throwin' open the door, rushin' up them. I was tryin' to get up to the roof, cause hell, I could still hear the sound of the propellers on the 'copter. I was prayin', wishin' on a whim, that maybe this 'copter would stop. Maybe it would pick us up and take us the hell out of here.

 

 

I kept goin' til I reached the final floor, throwin' open the door, runnin' out onto the roof. I threw my arms up in the air, sceamin' at the copter that was startin' to fly off into the distance.

 

 

Guess my lucky star weren't so lucky no more.

 

 

I fell down to my knees, pantin'. 'Copter gone, now everythin' was just gettn' more difficult.

I ran my hand down my face, sighin'.

 

 

 

“Weapons on floor, then get up.”

 

 

I felt the barrel of a gun pressed into the back of my skull, the metal cold 'ginst my hair.

 

 

I sat the bag down first, then put the rifle down next to it. I pulled the pistols out from the leather holster, settin' them down beside the rifle. I started to slowly stand up, hands shakin', raisin' them into the air, puttin' them behind my head.

 

 

“Turn around.”

 

 

I turned my body, my eyebrows raisin' when I saw just who was holdin' that gun.

 

 

White suit, blue shirt, golden rings.

 

 

 

I started grinnin'.

 

 

“'Ey, ain't chuu Nick?”

 

 

He lowered his brows, his head cockin' just slightly, the pistol still uncomfortably pointed at my forehead.

 

 

“It's Ellis. From yesterday!” I said, kinda excited to see a familiar face.

 

 

He looked at me, a blank look in his eyes, brows still low. Then, his face started to light up jus' a bit, his brows raisin' back up.

 

“Oh yeah, you're that annoying hick.”

 

 

“Yeah, I'm... Hey.” I frowned, lowerin' my arms, crossin' them.

 

 

He scoffed, lowerin' his magnum, but still holdin' it in his hand, his finger hoverin' over the trigger guard.

 

“Why are you up here, kid?”

 

 

“I heard a 'copter. Thought maybe I could get them to stop, or sumthin'.”

 

 

“You heard it too, huh?” He shook his head, finally puttin' his gun back into the brown holster on his thigh. “Military isn't gonna help us for shit.”

 

 

“Yeah, my buddy Keith don't like the military either. He was thinkin' that evac center or whatever in Atlanta, by them CEDA people, that it's just bullshit.”

 

 

Then it hit me, Keith still weren't here. Hell, I had no idea where he was. He said he was gonna catch up to me, and he knew where I was goin'. He should've been here by now. I should've never left him alone.

 

 

Fuck, I was thinkin'. Just fuckin' hell, _why_ did my dumb brain say it was a good idea to leave him? All my thoughts were racin' together in my mind, all the bad possibilities comin' first. What if he were dead? What if the zombies down there had ripped him apart, piece by piece? What if they was feedin' on him in a frenzy?

 

 

I was apparently starin' off into space for too long, Nick wavin' his hand in front of my eyes, my focus comin' back.

 

“Overalls, hey. Are you even listening to a damn word I said?” 

 

 

I looked at him blankly. “Huh?”

 

 

He huffed, rollin' his eyes. “Never mind. Anyways...” 

 

 

The pistol jolted out of Nick's holster 'gain, pointed between my eyes. “Rifle. Hand it over.” 

 

 

My eyes crossed, lookin' at the silver barrel, then back at Nick. My mouth gaped open, a dumbfounded look on my face. “Huh...?”

 

 

“I'm speaking English clear as day to you, kid. Hand over your rifle.” 

 

 

“But, why?” 

 

 

Nick sighed in annoyance, closin' his eyes in frustration. I learned that was a habit of his, closin' his eyes and huffin' when sumthin' was angerin' him. “Don't be fucking stupid, overalls. Just hand it over, and no one has to get hurt. Okay?”

 

 

“I...” I looked behind me at the rifle. “I can help you get chur own. The gun shop's just right down the road.” 

 

 

Nick shook his head. “Too much work. Just hand it over.”

 

 

“Please, Nick. C'mon man, no one's gotta get hurt. I need that gun. I... I can just help you get chur own, and hell, we can head to Atlanta together. You, me, 'nd my buddy Keith.”

 

 

“Woah, woah, _woah_. Let me just stop you there. First of all, we are _not_ traveling together. I can't stand you alone, how do you think I'd be able to survive with _two_ hicks?” He sighed, cockin' his head. “Kid, stop stalling. I'm not afraid to shoot.” 

 

 

I slowly bent down, turnin' to pick up the rifle, handin' it carefully over to Nick. He harshly grabbed it from me, gun still pointed to my head. He looked it over, examinin' every lil' bit of the gun, noddin' in approval. 

 

 

“What's in that bag?” 

 

 

“Hell man, you already have my gun.”

 

 

He cocked his Magnum. 

 

 

“I'll ask again. What's in the bag?”

 

 

I bit my lip. “Food, sum shirts, medical shit. Nothin' valuable.” 

 

 

Nick started steppin' 'round me, gun still raised, rifle slung over his shoulder by the leather strap. He crouched down, unzippin' the duffel bag. He rummaged through the contents, the can clatterin' together. 

 

 

He pulled out the medkit 'nd a few cans of soup, puttin' them into the small red backpack. He lowered the gun, creepin' back towards the door leadin' back down to the stairs, turnin' his back to me. 

 

 

“Well kid, I'll be heading out. See you.” He raised his hand, in a gesture that seemed kinda like a wave or sumthin'. 

 

 

I snatched up a pistol from the ground, cockin' it, pointin' it at Nick. “'Kay. Now, put all the shit down, and I'll help ya get yer own gun. 'Nd we can share the food and med shit. Okay?”

 

 

Nick started laughin'. Guffawin'. He turned back 'round, shakin' his head in amusement, smirkin'. 

“Nice move, overalls.” 

 

 

I grinned. “Think I'd let you get away with my shit, jackass?” 

 

 

“Didn't know what I was expecting, honestly.” 

 

 

And so, Nick gave me back my gun 'nd we put the cans back into the duffel bag. We started makin' our way down the stairs of the hotel that was burnin' up in flames. The smoke was real thick 'nd dark, makin' us cough up a lung.

 

 

So that was our plan, makin' it the hell out of this deathtrap of a hotel, gettn' Nick a gun, then I guess, headin' to Atlanta. We didn't really talk much 'bout that part, but I was assumin' we was gonna be together. 

 

 

Little did we know, by the time we made it down into the halls, Keith was runnin' up on the roof, screamin' for me. 

 


End file.
